Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Colt Light Rifle - Forbes conversion question

I have a Colt Light Rifle in 30-06 that I'm thinking of sending to Forbes for conversion to 25-06.

I understand that Forbes beds his rifle barrels full length. This will be a hunting rifle and I shoot using a sling whenever possible. Will tension on the sling studs affect point of impact or is the stock stiff enough to handle sling tension without changing POI?

Thanks, and any comments about the CLR-Forbes conversion are welcome.

Just got one back, I dont know the answer to your question, because I dont sling,
but I would bet it would not change POI. That is one stiff Mother
If you decide to sell it let me know..

Sorry, I don't understand. I own the CLR, I haven't decided to send it to Forbes yet.

Posted to the wrong forum, sorry not meant for this discussion

The stock is stiff enough that tension on the sling stud will not affect POI whatsoever.

natman-

I've got several. Just like Tarquin says, the stocks are incredibly stiff and there will be no affecting POI whatsoever. You will love the stock "feel" and knowing Mr. Melvin did his " magic " will really enhance the resale value if you ever want to sell it. All of mine shoot very well and the less weight is a plus. I've heard that Mr. Forbes is getting things out in a timely matter now because of a great hire in his machining department. You can PM ilikeguns on here and he can update you if you want. He lives close to Melvin and is very helpful. Good luck!

I sent Mel my 7RM many years ago and I am certain he is not building flimsier stocks these days. Have him replace the trigger as the stock safety is ugly and a Rem or similar trigger is so much nicer. I had an aluminum trigger guard installed to replace the plastic colt. Mine has always been MOA with everything but 160 gr., 1/2 MOA with most. Groups have started to open a bit but is to be expected as the stock Colt barrel rounds are well into 2,000 and the lands 0.035" farther away.

The 25-06 is a rather poor cartridge selection and the CLR a rather poor rifle selection,mainly because bullets matter more than headstamps and trite COAL do no favors. Hint.

A "lowly" 6 Kreedmire will slap it around and be a hell of a lot more fun to shoot. Hint................

Keep in mind the colt is a magnum action based off the model 28, might make more sense to chamber in a long magnum of your choice or find a early Forbes to rebarrel. All depends on what you want to do.

I think the best person to ask is Mr. Forbes. He is easy to reach directly at his shop in Granville, WV, via the telephone at 304-292-0600.

Nobody knows more about the NULA-CLR hybrid conversion work than Mr. Forbes.

Mr. Forbes is the guy who answers the phone! Give him a call.

Could you go into more detail about how the Colt is a magnum action as opposed to a 30-06 family action?

the model 28 action is larger in diameter than the model 24 which is what Melvin would build off of for that caliber
so it is larger in diameter and weighs 4 ounces more not a big deal

All colt actions are basically a nula model 28, whereas if you ordered say a 3006 straight from Melvin it would be a model 24 which like the above comment says would weigh 4 ounces less. At the end of the day it’s whatever will make you happy but that rifle is basically setup for a long magnum length cartridge. Melvin is the guy to talk to though, obviously he’s gonna be way more knowledgeable than me about his design.

Thanks, that makes perfect sense. Hmm, 257 Weatherby???

Can Melvin open up the boltface on a CLR 30-06 for a magnum chambering? CLR's were also made in 7 mag. Cheaper to look around and go that route?

Melvin doesn't open bolt faces on colt light reworks, he replaces them all together. if you send a 30-06 in to make it a magnum caliber with a new barrel, a new bolt face is in the rework.

what do you mean he replaces them all together? does he use a whole new bolt if say you went from a 30-06 to a mag caliber? also, like said above the mag calibers were based off of the 28b and the standard cals were the 24b correct?
Big Ed

yes colt light is a model 28 magnum action, forbes were based off the 24 and 20 and i thought my statement was pretty self explanatory, but... when upgrading a colt light from a standard 473 bolt face, he doesnt open up the bolt face he replaces it with a magnum 532 bolt face and vice versa. the bolt isnt replaced just the face

"Hmm, 257 Weatherby???"

257 weatherby makes alot of sense. If I do another one thats probably what I'd do with a fast twist for the new berger bullets supposedly coming out. I kept mine 7 mag as a companion to my Nula 284.